Rely on God

During the holidays one year my family traveled to London,
England, for a vacation. After we returned, I realized that the trip was an
analogy of a much more important journey each of us is on — fulfilling God’s
plan for his or her life.

There are a number of similarities. For one thing, the time
of preparation was much longer than the journey itself. We prepared for months,
checking flight times and prices and making certain all our paperwork was in
order. We even itemized things we would need and put them on our Christmas
lists.

Some of the preparation was tedious and time-consuming. How
true this is in the spiritual realm as well! In fact, the season of preparation
God requires of us sometimes drags out so long we get discouraged because we
are eager to be going SOMEWHERE.

But if all the “equipment” isn’t in place and in the right
condition, we won’t make it to the end of the journey. Jesus prepared until He
was 30 years old for a mission that lasted only three years.

For another thing, once we had made all the preparations, we
could relax. All we had to do was get on the plane and trust the expertise of
those in charge. Everything we needed was provided for us.

It is this way on our spiritual journey, too. When we are
walking in purpose, God will do through us all He intends and provide the means
for us to accomplish His will.

Often, however, we resist God’s mandate to relinquish our
concerns and trust Him, and we end up carrying a burden we were never meant to
bear. The result is that we feel stressed out when God intended for us to have
peace and rest. Instead, we must acknowledge our inability to fulfill His plan
on our own and declare our reliance on Him.

Finally, on the flight there was unexpected turbulence. It
was uncomfortable and in some people stirred feelings of fear and the
disturbing thought that we might not make it to our destination.

But I knew the plane had been through inclement weather many
times and had arrived safely. The key, in an airplane as in your journey with
God, is to stay in your place and rest in the fact that those who know better
than you are in control. If you get out of your seat to walk around, you may be
hurt, and if you try to bail out, you will die.

No matter how securely anchored you are, you will still
experience some storms. But remember that everything that happens to you on the
journey is either part of God’s plan or occurs with His permission.

He is the one in control. And as Paul points out in his
second letter to the Corinthians, hardships sometimes occur “that we might not
rely on ourselves but on God” (2 Cor. 1:9).

God will often require us to do things that are beyond our
natural ability. The numerous brave-hearted women who have gone before us in
the faith — among them missionaries, pastors, evangelists, teachers and more — found this to be true.

As the lives of Amy Carmichael, Aimee Semple McPherson,
Kathryn Kuhlman, Henrietta Mears and many others clearly demonstrate, there are
no limits to what you can accomplish when you are doing what God ordained for
you to do — if you rely totally on Him.

PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 7-11-2011

As you pray this week
stay secure in the knowledge that you can rely on God and His wisdom to see you
through any turbulence in your life. Thank Him that He knows all things and can
lead you safely through your life’s journey and that you will accomplish all
that He has for you. Continue to pray for a global revival and harvest of
souls. Remember Israel, our allies, our military serving at home and abroad;
pray for them and their families. Pray that President Obama and those working
with him will bring viable solutions to our nation’s security, social, and
economic problems. 2 Cor.
1:9; 1 Thes. 5:17,18

To enrich your prayer
life and learn how to strategically pray with power by using appropriate
scriptures, we recommend the following sources by Apostle John Eckhardt: Prayers that Rout Demons, Prayers that Bring Healing, Prayers that Release Heaven on Earth and Prayers that Break
Curses. To order any or all of these click here.